Iran Today: The Last Rallies Before the Vote

With campaigning for Friday’s Presidential vote formally ended at 8 a.m. local time (0330 GMT), most candidates tried to boost support and win over the undecided with rallies.

The most notable of these, in size and volume, was from Mashhad for the moderate Hassan Rouhani. Amid signs of a continuing surge for the cleric, following the formation of a moderate-reformist coalition, tens of thousands chanted and sang for “freedom” — including for political prisoners such as 2009 candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Informal gatherings were also held throughout the country, notably in the major squares and streets of the capital Tehran. Groups — sometimes numbering in the thousands — came out for Rouhani, Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, lead nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalii, Supreme Leader advisor Ali Akbar Velayati, and Mohsen Rezaei, the former head of the Revolutionary Guards.

But does all of this point to a change in mood among Iranians for the election? On Wednesday, we led with a correspondent’s summary of a largely passive and resigned electorate but some observers and witnesses — noting in particular the Rouhani campaign — are claiming a shift. As one Tehran resident put it: “It’s like someone put something in the water last night and this morning people are just different.”

The rallies both highlighted and overtook another interesting development: the apparent concern of the regime, including the Supreme Leader, over voter turnout.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s call for mass participation extended to an unusual plea in his speech on Thursday. In a system marked by official and unofficial dislike of a focus on “Iran” rather than the “Islamic Republic”, the Supreme Leader said, “If someone doesn’t want to back the Islamic system, then surely that person wants back to his/her country.”

Latest Updates, From Top to Bottom

BBC Slams Iran Over Harassment Ahead of Election

The BBC issued a statement on Thursday evening condemning Iran for harassing and intimidating the family members of BBC Persian employees ahead of Friday’s Presidential election. Radio Farda previously reported a similar situation.

The BBC is very concerned by the unprecedented levels of intimidation being suffered by families of BBC Persian Service staff living in Iran in the final days of the presidential election campaign.

In the past few days alone, 15 family members have been summoned for questioning by the Intelligence Ministry in Tehran and in other cities across the country. The harassment has included threats that relatives will lose jobs and pensions and be prevented from travelling abroad. For the first time the lives of BBC Persian TV staff living in the UK have also been threatened.

The BBC condemns this completely unacceptable harassment against our Persian TV service and other media organisations and independent journalists. Despite this intimidation and crude attempts to discredit our journalism, BBC audiences in Iran have almost doubled to 11.8m. This recognition by ordinary Iranians is a tribute to the professionalism and resilience of our journalists, and to the value of their work delivering unbiased news and programmes to Persian-speaking audiences.

Campaign Rivalries In Posters (Iran Primer)

Looking back at an election campaign by eight — eventually whittled down to six — candidates that the Western media has dismissed as indistinguishable, it is interesting to read this blog post by Garrett Nada of USIP’s Iran Primer, who has highlighted the various campaign posters produced by the candidates’ campaign teams. Nader discusses the various buzzwords and slogans each candidate has used to differentiate themselves and grab public attention.

It is hard to predict whether there will be a large turnout at Friday’s poll. Both Aref and Rouhani have called on their supporters — who range from moderates through reformists and even some of the Green movement — to turn out and vote, saying that to do so will make a difference. A large turnout could therefore give Rouhani the edge he needs to go through into the second round, which will most likely be against Ghalibaf.

Rezaei: With All My Power, I Have Arrived

Independent Presidential candidate and former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei tweets these two photographs, just hours before the polls open in Iran. The second is captioned, on Twitter: With All My Power, I Have Arrived.

Video: Khamenei Tells Iranians To Vote For Iran If Not Islamic Republic

Footage of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech on Wednesday, in which he called on Iranians to come out to vote en masse, saying that: My prime recommendation is a enthusiastic participation. Maybe someone does not want to back the Islamic system, but then they surely want to back their country.”

Presidential Elections Will Go Into Second Round, Head of Council Elections Says

Conservative news website Entekhab uses Hossein Tala, head of the High Elections Oversight Committee for Islamic Tehran Province, City, and Village Councils, to say that the Presidential election will go into a second, run-off round. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/iran-city-council-elections.html#ixzz2W5x5bNpz

Jalili Accuses IRIB Of Bias, Says His Campaign Rally Was Biggest

Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili has continued to accuse State TV of bias, after saying earlier Thursday that IRIB had deliberately chosen not to cover his campaign rally at Tehran’s Heidarnia Stadium on Wednesday.Jalili accused IRIB of boycotting the rally in favor of that of his rival, Presidential candidate and Tehran mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf. Jalili’s campaign team accused IRIB of displaying political favoritism while taking public money:

#Iran state TV is apparently taking political side while getting funds from public treasury. #iranelection

Rouhani’s campaign aide, Morteza Bank, also gave an interview published Wednesday with pan-Arab news outlet al-Sharq al-Awsat, in which he said that if elected, Rouhani would push for better relations with Saudi Arabia. The article notes:

According to Bank, Rouhani views good relations with Iran’s immediate neighbors as his top foreign policy priority. He toldAsharq Al-Awsat: “The Persian Gulf region enjoys a special geostrategic and strategic position in Mr. Rouhani’s government.”

He said that, accordingly, “in order to improve relations with the neighboring countries, Saudi Arabia is Rouhani’s top priority.” Bank pointed to Rouhani’s service as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for over a decade and the relationships he has built up with leaders and officials of neighboring states as proof of his ability to bolster relations.

He said: “Mr. Rouhani has very good experience in this matter, as he is the person who initiated and ensured the security agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia was signed.”

Bank added that regional governments would be eager to deal with a moderate government in Tehran, making the chances of success of Rouhani’s outreach more likely.

Google Alleges “Politically-Motivated” Phishing Attacks In Iran

Google reports on its security blog that in the past three weeks, the company has detected and stopped a number of phishing attacks directed at Iranian Gmail users. Google suggested that the attacks were likely to be politically motivated because of the upcoming elections. Phishing is an attempt to trick an email recipient into revealing confidential information, usually their password, by pretending to be a trustworthy person or organization.

A Supporter in Birjand With Poster of Mohsen Rezaei

The Rally for Rouhani

Another image from the Hassan Rouhani campaign of Wednesday’s rally in Mashhad:

A Rap Song for Jalili — But He’s Not Happy

Video of a rally in Mashhad for Saeed Jalili features a rap tribute from a young boy. Jalili’s campaign, however, was diverted by a complaint that State TV broadcast images from rallies of Mohammad Baqer-Qalibaf but not from those for its candidate:

About The Author

Scott Lucas is Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran. Formerly he worked as a journalist in the US, writing for newspapers including the Guardian and The Independent and was an essayist for The New Statesman before he founded EA WorldView in November 2008.